BOSTON — According to multiple reports, the Red Sox have signed two big-time arms on the first day of international free agency, agreeing to terms with right-handed pitchers Anderson Espinoza and Chris Acosta.

By Tim Britton

BOSTON — According to multiple reports, the Red Sox have signed two big-time arms on the first day of international free agency, agreeing to terms with right-handed pitchers Anderson Espinoza and Chris Acosta.

Both are 16 years old.

Espinoza, out of Venezuela, is largely considered one of if not the best arms in this class of international free agents. Six-feet tall and 170 pounds, he can hit 94 on the radar gun with an excellent curveball.

Acosta, from the Dominican Republic, is considered unusually polished for his age, according to Baseball America. He throws in the low 90s with a good changeup.

Signing both pitchers puts the Red Sox well beyond their international spending pool of nearly $1.9 million. (It has been reported that Espinoza alone signed for close to $2 million.) Since this is the second consecutive year the Red Sox have exceeded their bonus pool, Boston will be taxed 100 percent on its overage and be unable to sign a player to a bonus of greater than $300,000 in the next two signing periods.

International free agency has long served the Red Sox well, providing talent such as Xander Bogaerts (signed out of Aruba in 2009) and Rafael Devers, last summer’s big score. Devers is off to a rousing start in his first professional season, hitting .347 in 27 games in the Dominican Summer League as a 17-year-old.